The Far Eastern University Tamaraws fended off a mid-quarter rallies and finished strong to subdue the College of Saint Benilde Blazers, 73-67, and took their maiden win in Group B of the 2017 FilOil Flying V Preseason Premier Cup, early Wednesday evening at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
The result also marked the debut victory of new FEU head coach Olsen Racela. On the other hand, the Taft-based squad absorbed their third straight loss to go down at 1-3.
Transferee Hubert Cani led the charge for the Morayta-based squad with 18 points off a huge 83 percent clip from the outside, and three assists. Richard Escoto punched in 11 markerd and five rebounds.
The closest the Blazers have been in the first three quarters was when the registered strong third-quarter run, capped by a Yankee Haruna drive to cut the deficit to eight, 43-51.
The Taft-based team once again tried to pull the upset in the fourth despite losing Haruna to ankle injury, but it was a little too late and FEU walked away with the win. The Blazers outgunned the UAAP Season 78 champions in the payoff canto, 20-9.
“We’re a work in progress,” Racela said. Despite the win, the first-time collegiate coach noted that fourth-quarter meltdown, “For 40 minutes, we have to play consistently.
“Again ang tinitingnan namin is self-improvement, mage-gauge namin kung nasaan na kami sa training because of the competition,” Racela said of the goals in this Cup. “One is exposure and two is improvement game to game, hopefully by June, malaki na yung inangat namin.”
The Tamaraws will next face Arellano University (0-2) on Sunday, May 21 at 1:30 pm.
Clement Leutcheu paced Saint Benilde with 11 points and nine rebounds, while JJ Domingo also had 11 markers to go along with two assists.
The Blazers will face the University of the Philippines in the prior game at 11:15 pm.
The Scores:
FEU (73) – Cani 18, Escoto 11, Dennison 8, Tolentino 8, Ramirez 7, Bienes 6, Comboy 6, Parker 3, Tuffin 3, Ebona 2, Iñigo 1, Nunag 0.
CSB (67) – Leutcheu 11, Domingo 11, Haruna 10, Sta. Maria 9, Dixon 8, San Juan 6, Naboa 5, Castor 2, Mercado 2, Suarez 2, Pili 1, Young 0.
Quarterscores: 26-18, 43-29, 64-47, 73-67
